Penn State fraternity members could have saved hazing victim Tim Piazza if they called for help more quickly, doctor testifies

Family members and prosecutors appear at a press conference last year in connection to the death of Tim Piazza. (Phoebe Sheehan/AP)

Penn State pledge Tim Piazza might still be alive if fraternity members had called for help more quickly, a forensic pathologist testified Friday.

Dr. Harry Kamerow said the 19-year-old Piazza died of severe head, spleen and abdominal injuries from falling down basement stairs last year.

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An ambulance was not called until the following morning, and fraternity members were shown on camera taking loose and counterproductive steps to address his condition.

"He has a much better shot at survival, if they brought him out of the basement, recognized what's going on," Kamerow testified. "If he's very close to that period, he's got a good shot. As time passes on, his prognosis grows dimmer and dimmer and dimmer."

Kamerow said Piazza, who was from New Jersey, drank a dangerous amount of alcohol.

The preliminary hearing is being held to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed with charges against 11 members of Beta Theta Pi. The defendants were not in the Bellefonte courtroom.

Five of the 11 defendants are charged with involuntary manslaughter. Other charges include hazing and reckless endangerment.

Jim and Evelyn Piazza walk into the courthouse with their lawyers on Friday. (Phoebe Sheehan/AP)

Parents Jim and Evelyn Piazza, who were present in the courtroom, also helped a Pennsylvania state pol propose a new anti-hazing law on Friday.

Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, a Republican, said the law would include tougher penalties for hazing and would force schools to have more responsible policies, according to the Tribune-Review.

"Jim and Evelyn Piazza have taken what is an unspeakable tragedy — their very personal heartbreak – and channeled it into what will be the most complete antihazing law in the nation," Corman said, according to the newspaper.

"They are driven by the memory of Tim, propelled by the desire to make certain that no other child dies as part of some coerced and misguided rite of passage."

Penn State has banned Beta Theta Pi and launched new measures in wake of Piazza's death.